Council approves City Walk first phase

Construction on the first leg of the City Walk recreational trail and a series of streetlight upgrades on University Boulevard were approved Tuesday by the Tuscaloosa City Council.

Staff file photo

By Jason MortonStaff Writer

Published: Wednesday, March 6, 2013 at 3:30 a.m.

Last Modified: Tuesday, March 5, 2013 at 11:32 p.m.

TUSCALOOSA | Construction on the first leg of the City Walk recreational trail and a series of streetlight upgrades on University Boulevard were approved Tuesday by the Tuscaloosa City Council.

The City Walk's first phase will extend 535 feet behind Central Church of Christ on Hargrove Road and connect Second Court to Third Avenue East.

At the recommendation of acting City Engineer David Griffin, the council's Public Projects Committee also recommended adding a section of standard sidewalk along Second Court to connect the City Walk to Hargrove.

The committee also approved adding a 4-inch conduit to allow for the future installation of fiber optic cable, power lines “or any other needs that may arise as the City Walk develops and comes together,” Griffin said.

These additional two options brought the contract total, awarded to CivilWorx Construction LLC, to $326,641.50.

The City Walk is the planned recreational trail that will traverse the 5.9-mile span of the April 27, 2011, tornado. The idea of the trail grew from several community-wide storm recovery planning meetings and was formally adopted as part of the Tuscaloosa Forward Generational Master Plan in early 2012.

This initial leg of the City Walk grew out of a partnership between City Hall and Central Church of Christ, which sustained heavy damage from the tornado.

The development of plans to rebuild the church led to the discovery that a portion of the church's site was in the

federally-declared floodway, which severely limits what can be constructed. For the University Boulevard traffic signals, City Hall is partnering with the University of Alabama to evenly split the estimated $700,000 cost.

Councilman Lee Garrison pitched the plan to use the Office of the City Engineer and Tuscaloosa Department of Transportation to design and install the street lights and backlit street signs that UA has agreed to purchase. The total for each is about $350,000, said Garrison and Jon Howell, TDOT's associate director.

“Hopefully, if we move now we can have them up by football season,” Garrison said in recommending the vote be accelerated from Tuesday's committee meeting to that night's full City Council agenda for a final vote.

The improvements will add decorative street lights and new street signs to University Boulevard's intersections with Stadium and Colonial drives, Sixth Avenue, Hackberry Lane and the crosswalks in front of the Rose Administration building and the President's Mansion.

Councilwoman Cynthia Almond, a member of the Public Projects Committee, agreed to the project on the condition that city staff members would compile a list of intersections that should be considered for decorative street lights in the future.

“These are old-style light fixtures that should go in the older parts of town,” Almond said, noting that they fit in the downtown area, but not the newer neighborhoods of north Tuscaloosa and District 7, which she represents.

<p>TUSCALOOSA | Construction on the first leg of the City Walk recreational trail and a series of streetlight upgrades on University Boulevard were approved Tuesday by the Tuscaloosa City Council.</p><p>The City Walk's first phase will extend 535 feet behind Central Church of Christ on Hargrove Road and connect Second Court to Third Avenue East.</p><p>At the recommendation of acting City Engineer David Griffin, the council's Public Projects Committee also recommended adding a section of standard sidewalk along Second Court to connect the City Walk to Hargrove.</p><p>The committee also approved adding a 4-inch conduit to allow for the future installation of fiber optic cable, power lines “or any other needs that may arise as the City Walk develops and comes together,” Griffin said.</p><p>These additional two options brought the contract total, awarded to CivilWorx Construction LLC, to $326,641.50.</p><p>The City Walk is the planned recreational trail that will traverse the 5.9-mile span of the April 27, 2011, tornado. The idea of the trail grew from several community-wide storm recovery planning meetings and was formally adopted as part of the Tuscaloosa Forward Generational Master Plan in early 2012.</p><p>This initial leg of the City Walk grew out of a partnership between City Hall and Central Church of Christ, which sustained heavy damage from the tornado. </p><p>The development of plans to rebuild the church led to the discovery that a portion of the church's site was in the </p><p>federally-declared floodway, which severely limits what can be constructed. For the University Boulevard traffic signals, City Hall is partnering with the University of Alabama to evenly split the estimated $700,000 cost.</p><p>Councilman Lee Garrison pitched the plan to use the Office of the City Engineer and Tuscaloosa Department of Transportation to design and install the street lights and backlit street signs that UA has agreed to purchase. The total for each is about $350,000, said Garrison and Jon Howell, TDOT's associate director.</p><p>“Hopefully, if we move now we can have them up by football season,” Garrison said in recommending the vote be accelerated from Tuesday's committee meeting to that night's full City Council agenda for a final vote.</p><p>The improvements will add decorative street lights and new street signs to University Boulevard's intersections with Stadium and Colonial drives, Sixth Avenue, Hackberry Lane and the crosswalks in front of the Rose Administration building and the President's Mansion.</p><p>Councilwoman Cynthia Almond, a member of the Public Projects Committee, agreed to the project on the condition that city staff members would compile a list of intersections that should be considered for decorative street lights in the future.</p><p>“These are old-style light fixtures that should go in the older parts of town,” Almond said, noting that they fit in the downtown area, but not the newer neighborhoods of north Tuscaloosa and District 7, which she represents.</p>